The Other-for-Me. The Construction of Saladin in El conde Lucanor

Abstract

This essay analyzes the representation of Saladin in examples 25 and 50 of Conde Lucanor, establishing parallels with other Mediterranean narratives &-historical accounts of the Crusades, chivalric poetry, didactic and wisdom literature&- to problematize the view that these stories are critical representations of Muslims and of Saladin. I propose that the Saladin of the examples embodies an idealized vision of the Ayy&;363#bīd sultan, already present in the European imagination before CL, transformed by Juan Manuel into a model of behavior and a sign of Juan Manuel's colonial projection on the knowledge of Arabo Islamic cultures.